


Tea for Two

by DetectiveRoboRyan



Category: Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen, Siblings, Sisters, Tiny baby ficlet, Written for FE Sib Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 17:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16330034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DetectiveRoboRyan/pseuds/DetectiveRoboRyan
Summary: Minerva has never been one for tea parties, but when Maria specifically requests it for her birthday, how can she refuse?





	Tea for Two

**Author's Note:**

> so glad to have a chance to post this!! it was super fun working with the sib zine, i had a rad time and i got to write my favorite sibs :D

Minerva had been to tea parties before. It wasn't her scene, she'd admit— she always felt too big and clumsy for the dainty sandwiches and tiny cups they set out, too grotesque and brutish and _unfeminine_ for the topics of conversation social-climbing noble ladies proposed. As the elder princess of Macedon, this was one of her duties, and she was in the unfortunate position of not being able to refuse it, lest she jeopardize being called princess at all.   
  
But if Maria wanted to have a tea party on the day Minerva came to see her, then who was Minerva to refuse?  
  
The guards knew her, and had been informed ahead of time, and informed that this was, in fact, sanctioned by the King, so nobody tried to stop her or run her through when she came to see Maria. Which was for the best, even though Minerva, per Maria's request, had come unarmored and left Hauteclere with her mount— although it would've been close to a fair fight, Minerva had no desire to have her baby sister see her covered in blood. Maria had told her ahead of time that she didn’t want any talk of war or battle or fighting to be present on her special day, and Minerva held this vow as solemnly as she held any other.  
  
Maria pounced on her the instant the guards shut the tower doors. "Minerva, I'm so glad you could come! I've already set up the tea."  
  
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Minerva promised, running a hand over Maria's messy hair.   
  
Maria tugged her over to the table and sat her down. It was a moderately-sized tea table, though Minerva took up about half of it, and the spindly chair groaned under her weight. She was glad she hadn't brought her armor.   
  
Maria's tea set was a child's set made for tiny hands, white porcelain with tiny painted roses and vines. She'd already set out the tea, but it was still hot, so it obviously hadn't been long. Minerva took one of the tiny cups between her thumb and forefinger and swirled the pale tea in the cup (and now that she was looking at it, it may not have been tea). Maria hurried over with a plate of cookies and set it on the table amidst the other treats— various candies and pastries, all Maria's favorites (though Minerva did notice the bowls of sugared almonds and fresh cherries, which _happened_ to both be Minerva's favorites). She pushed her skirt out of the way and sat down on the other side, picking up a teacup.   
  
“I’m glad Michalis let you visit for my birthday, Minerva,” Maria said, beaming. “I had to pester him _so_ much, you could hardly believe it. He visited too, of course, but that was yesterday. I like to think of it as having a big, long, extended birthday.”  
  
“That is certainly one way to think of it,” Minerva said carefully.   
  
“He got me a doll or something,” Maria shrugged, obviously not caring very much about the doll. “How are Palla and Catria and Est? Have they perfected their triangle attack?”  
  
That, Minerva can talk about. “They’re doing well,” Minerva said. “Est recently passed her solo flight test and became a full-fledged initiate of the Macedon knights.”   
  
“Ooh!” Maria clapped her hands. “That’s so exciting! Will that mean they can come visit more, too?”  
  
“I expect so, yes,” Minerva agreed.   
  
“I got the invitation to her knighting ceremony,” Maria said. Her smile turned forlorn. “Michalis probably won’t let me go, though. It’s probably not safe.”  
  
Minerva hesitated. “I’ll tell you all about it,” she promised. “You’ll feel like you were really there yourself.”  
  
“I guess that’s better than nothing,” Maria admitted. “Oh! Guard-captain Arlen gave me this beautiful set of crayons for my birthday present, do you want to see my pictures?”  
  
And of course Minerva did, so Maria pushed aside the teacups and plates and spread her crayon drawings on the table— Minerva couldn’t pretend to understand them, but Maria chattered on happily and Minerva ate a few of the tiny cookies to be polite. She wasn’t hungry, but it’d be rude to refuse.   
  
Maria stacked her pictures together again and moved them off the table. “Michalis visited me the other day,” she said carefully. “He said things are going well with the Dolhrians. That Macedon is getting better since we’re on the winning side of the war.”  
  
 _It’s not a war, it’s a conquest,_ Minerva wanted to say. She didn’t say that. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about the war on your birthday, Maria.”  
  
“I don’t,” Maria agreed. “But I wanted to know. You know nobody tells me _anything_. Is it going okay for you? I know you’re the one on the front.”  
  
Minerva hesitated, thinking of how to explain it. “I try my best,” she said. “I try to keep the army rallied, make sure the generals are doing their part to keep their armies safe. I have that power, at least.”  
  
Maria wriggled into Minerva’s lap. Minerva smoothed down her messy red hair. “Michalis said he’s going to stop it before it can reach me,” she said. “But I’m worried. Will you be alright, Minerva?”  
  
“I will be,” Minerva promised, knowing she couldn’t actually say that and mean it. “And I’ll be back to visit you on your next birthday, and whenever I can.”  
  
Maria was quiet, nestled against Minerva’s chest. “I’d like that,” she decided. Then she stood back up and returned to her chair. “The tea’s probably cooled off by now,” she said. “Can I tell you a secret, Minerva?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“It’s not actually tea. I boiled some apple juice.”


End file.
